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POWERSHAKE

November 03, 2005

William Carey Students Expelled for Katrina Related Incident

Students say their expulsion is racially motivated.

William Carey College, a fourth tier baptist school, expels four black students for using an electric generator after Hurricane Katrina knocked out power at the school. Students and staff members "were stranded on the campus because of road blockage or distance from their homes."

"Some students went into a maintenance shed and used a generator from the campus, which helped students recharge and use their cell phones while the land lines were down as well as give them lights at night, according to Hattiesburg American"

The school later expelled senior Jeremy Irby, junior Marvin Flemmons, senior Dante Hardy, and junior Jeremiah Blackwell for using the generator that many students and schools staff used.

The students were escorted off campus by police after University officials told them that their conduct was contrary to the school's handbook.

The expelled without the possibility of appealing the decision, Hardy said.

Irby, Flemmons, Hardy and Blackwell are seeking legal action against the school.

"William Carey President Larry Kennedy declined to comment on the specifics of the case or confirm that the students were expelled. He said the incident had nothing to do with race."

"I was accused along with three other people of taking that generator and I was not among them," Hardy said. "If it was about rules being broken, there were several people that benefited from the use of the generator."

A predominantly white school with an undergraduate student body of 1,853. William Carey College is located in Hattiesburg, MS.